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Global Patterns of Mountain Ranges

Explore the location of mountain ranges and their relationship to the edges of continents and oceans with this global topographic map from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The map shows mountain ranges of varying heights on land, as depicted by shades of brown. Shades of blue in the oceans show the varying elevations of ridges, conveying that mountain ranges are in oceans as well as on land.

To view the Background Essay and Teaching Tips for this image, go to Support Materials below. This resource was developed through WGBH’s Bringing the Universe to America’s Classrooms project, in collaboration with NASA. Click here for the full collection of resources.

This NOAA global relief map is useful for observing the location of mountain ranges on land as well as the shapes of underwater terrain. Shades of light brown to dark reddish brown convey the heights of the mountain ranges. The darkest reddish-brown shade represents the highest elevations, while shades of green indicate lower elevations. Shades of blue represent elevation below the ocean surface, with the darkest blues being the deepest parts of the ocean and the lighter-blue colors indicating shallower waters. This map uses a Mercator projection, which causes distortion in landmasses in latitudes closer to the poles. For example, Antarctica is much larger and Africa is smaller than actual size.

Mountains are distinguishable from other landforms, such as hills, plateaus, and plains, because they are the areas of highest elevation on Earth’s surface. Mountain ranges are series of connected mountains. They occur both on land and in the oceans. This map reveals that some major mountain ranges on land are along the edges of continents and oceans, while inland areas tend to have lower elevations, as noted by the green or tan shades. Beneath the ocean surface, Earth’s crust also varies in height and depth. Ridges, the higher elevations, are the light-blue, curvy lines in the ocean; dark-blue areas represent trenches, or the deeper parts of the ocean floor.

Analyzing the locations of mountain ranges reveals the pattern of several mountain ranges occurring along the borders of continents and oceans. Here are some examples:

In North and South America, the highest and most extensive mountain ranges (shown in dark to reddish brown) occur along the western borders with the Pacific Ocean. In North America, they include a series of mountain ranges called the Cascades, the Rockies, the Sierra Nevada, and the Sierra Madre Oriental. In South America, the Andes follow the western border.

Several mountain ranges can be seen on the islands countries along the eastern edge of Asia in the Pacific; land here is mostly brown, indicating higher elevation. These mountains are just off the main continental landmass and form a boundary along the western Pacific Ocean.

Europe has mountain ranges extending along the southern parts of the continent, from southern Spain on the east to southern Turkey on the west.

Australia’s highest range, the Snowy Mountains (in dark beige), is along the southeastern border with the Pacific Ocean.

The most obvious and prominent example of an inland mountain range is the Himalayas in Asia. The wide, dark reddish-brown area on the map represents the Himalayas, which contain the highest mountain peaks in the world. Varying shades of brown depict other mountain ranges within the continent.

Analyzing the oceans on the map reveals a dramatic Earth crust that lies hidden beneath the water’s surface. In addition to expansive ridges, the ocean floor is made up of continental shelves, the light-blue areas bordering landmasses, and deep trenches, the darkest-blue areas. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is an example of an underwater mountain range. It appears as a light-blue, curvy line on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. Several other ridges occur in oceans around the globe.

This global topographic map enables students to observe the highs and lows of Earth’s surface, while recognizing patterns in the locations of mountain ranges that are often found near the edges of continents.

Activate students’ prior knowledge about what they know or think they know about mountain ranges on Earth.

View and engage with the distribution and relative locations of mountain ranges across the globe.

Visualize phenomena that are too big or too remote to experience or see in a classroom context.

Provide opportunities for students to observe, ask questions, and make evidence-based claims.

Engaging students with the phenomena

Ask students to share their knowledge and understanding of where major mountain ranges are located on Earth.

Before students view the map, review the color coding and ensure that they understand what each color represents: green is sea level; shades of blue represent depth of water, with the lighter blues representing shallow water and darker blues representing deeper levels; and shades of light tan to dark brown represent elevation, with the lightest tan being the lower elevations and the darkest brown being the highest mountain peaks.

Have groups of students look at different continents and then come together as a class to share observations of the topography. Then they can look for patterns in the location of mountains based on all groups’ observations.

Encourage zooming in to see detail of different locations or regions.

Encouraging science practices

Observe and describe the locations of mountain ranges on each continent and/or in the oceans.

Analyze the patterns observed to make a claim about the relative location between many mountain ranges and continental edges.

Discuss and refine claims based on evidence provided in conversations with classmates.

Discussion questions

Students can describe the general relationship between mountain range location and the edges of continents.

Patterns of mountain range distribution are “messy”; however, students can describe and discuss a general pattern, while also noting exceptions to the pattern. For example, major mountain ranges, as indicated by the darker-brown shades, occur along the borders of continents and oceans, such as along the western borders of North and South America, along the coast of Norway, and along the southeastern border of Australia; however, some continent and ocean borders are green or very light tan, indicating lower elevations. These include large areas of northern Europe and northern Asia. The Appalachian Mountains, the nearest mountain range for students living on the east coast, may be harder for students to spot because of the very light tan color. The color represents lower elevations as compared to the higher elevations of the ranges along the western side of North America. The highest peak in the Appalachian system is Mount Mitchell in North Carolina. It rises to 6,684 feet above sea level.